What advice must Noynoy listen to?

Even before Noynoy Aquino is proclaimed and sworn in as President, we hear hosts of advice coming from virtually everyone who has something to say. This is not a surprise as we all know every well meaning Filipinos can dish out a word or two of advice about something or someone. Noynoy victory, which re-awakened every Filipinos dreams of a good government, has sent everyone in euphoria and flooding Noynoy’s inbox with multitudes of congratulations and suggestions.

The first one that came out was the  Dear Noynoy  page in Facebook. Here anyone can congratulate Noynoy on his victory, send suggestions to the incoming President, and even pledge support. This trend has gone beyond Facebook as the weeks passed after May 10. Currently we are reading in the papers and watching in the TV endless unsolicited advice from the Catholic Church, Business groups, environmentalists, the Left, the Right and yes, even the outgoing administration of Arroyo. Each group is jockeying for position to influence Noynoy before he assumes control of the Presidency. Each group has vested interest to protect as well.

Take the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry or PCCI for example. While it dispenses good advice on controlling budget deficit and the need to provide enough power supplies, the group proposes not to increase wage for workers and even suggested further increasing EVAT to 15% to generate revenue. We all know basic wage in the Philippines is atrocious and unfair. It doesn t take an economist to analyse that. Poor Filipinos have bore the brunt of taxes while the business sector constantly whinge about a point five percent drop in their quarterly profits. The business sector in the Philippines has been so much insulated from the government that they can dictate anything from taxes to the cost of diesel and petrol every week. The business sector has become insensitive and has forgotten to look after its workforce.

The Catholic Church also played the  advice  card. The clergy, while not supporting a candidate, has finally given its support and prayers for Aquino to improve the situation of the country, but then stopped concerning RH Bill, which Noynoy supports. Clearly, the clergy has gone backward in time espousing the natural family planning method as the only choice and even lobbied to cease sex education implemented by DepEd. Thank goodness Filipinos know better who to listen to concerning family planning. The RH Bill clearly gives all Filipino families the freedom and the responsibility to choose.

The list of  advice  goes on and on. The Left insists they will not let Aquino have a honeymoon period and will plan to push their agenda, but stopped when asked about the prospect of peace talks and full cessation of their armed struggle. At least the MILF leadership showed positive signs of fulfilling the long awaited peace negotiations and the issue of ancestral domain in Mindanao and expressed optimism regarding Noynoy s administration and mandate. This cannot be said about NDF-CPP-NPA under Jose Maria Sison.

Eventually, Noynoy must listen to the ordinary people because this is where his strength comes from. And the ordinary people should not let vested interest get in the way of their progress and freedom.

(email: aespinosa@y7mail.com)

Voters overseas … so many, yet so few

by Nap Ikon 

The overseas Pinoy ‘swing vote’ remains nothing but a myth. Over seven million Filipinos are staying abroad. Imagine the political power we could have been wielding if only half of that number of registered as voters. But it seems very few really cared.

‘Nakalimutan kong mag-register,’ said one Pinoy resident in Sydney. He and his buddy were talking about the elections.

‘Kailan ba yung registration? Sayang.’ Typical reactions, typical shrug-the-shoulder comments and off these expats go their merry way.

Such conversation is often too common to hear in many Filipino communities outside the Philippines – be it in the US, the Middle East, or Hong Kong.

Election news and the Philippine political arena remains a hot topic yet when it comes to taking that train ride to register as an absentee voter, the numbers dwindle.

Of the eight million or so Filipinos overseas, not even a million were registered as voters in the coming elections (this is written before the May 10 polls).

The Commission on Elections had earlier wished to have at least one million overseas Pinoys casting their votes in the all too important national elections. But the target fell short, again, as it was in 2007, and as it was when the absentee voting law was enacted and first implemented in 2004.

Some blame the low number of voters in the dual citizenship requirement and the concomitant fees and transaction needed to become a dual citizen to allow oneself to vote.

“Wala rin namang epekto kapag dual citizen ka,” said Ramon. That may probably hold true for Pinoys say in Sydney (where many have become Aussies) or in the US (‘Kano na kami!’) but then how come the registration is also low even in regions with the biggest number of Filipino expatriates.

There are over a million in the Middle East region alone, and even millions more accounting the countries in Asia, including Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Those who remain Filipino citizens only need to sign up in their embassy. A registration period runs for a whole month. Yet, the numbers reveal it – very few are interested, not too many really care.

A couple of years ago, there was a senator (I can’t recall who) who said that the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are just too unpredictable.

The male senator said something to this effect – that so much lobby was pressed by the overseas Filipinos during the deliberations on the overseas absentee voting bill.

There were dozens of signature campaigns and what-have-you. When the bill was finally passed into law and the overseas Filipinos were allowed to vote, very few stepped in.

Bombast should be followed by deed.

Now, should OFWs, expats, permanent and temporary residents in Australia or any other part of the world wonder why we – as a sector – hardly matter in policy-making back home.

Should we have to wonder why, despite a major economic player – what with the billions of remittances – the OFW bloc remains to be an insignificant, or an ignored, force in Philippine politics?

On Filipino voters’ choice for senators – Doubtful if we ever matured

 

by Mar (by email), msmortis@yahoo.com

Elections and we all say that is the great moment of democracy in the Philippines. While I am writing this, the currentfrontrunners are actors Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada. Also winning are Lito Lapid.

What happened to the other equally promising candidates like Risa Hontiveros or General Danilo Lim?

It should not surprise us that we hardly see good debates coming out of the Senate because the people we put there are just either doing nothing

But just taking a look at the winners that are about to be proclaimed especially the line-up of senators makes me wonder if Filipinos really ever matured as voters.

We miss the services of some candidates who should be more deserving of taking seats in the Senate but who did we choose?

On Australia’s first saint: Pinay gets ready to witness Vatican canonisation

by GISELLE GOLOY

A 17-YEAR OLD Filipino-Aussie will be among Catholic delegates from Australia who will be going to the Vatican to witness the canonisation of Australia’s first saint – Blessed Mary MacKillop.
   On October 17, the status of Blessed Mary will be formally elevated to the sainthood in solemn rites considered a milestone date for the Catholic Church in Australia.
   Danica Mae Tagaza is all set to make the trip.  A year 12 student school captain at St. Mary MacKillop College (previously called the MacKillop Catholic College) in Canberra, she will join fellow delegates from her school which include fellow School Captain, Oliver Oakman (18 years old), Campus Captains Isabelle Schimdt and Andre Wilks (both 14 years old).
   “I was excited and happy, to say the least,” Danica said.  
   “The fact that I will be there, watching the canonisation of our school patron, representing the school and becoming part of history is mind-blowing. It is a real honour.”
   Danica said they found out they were going to represent the school on the same day the Pope announced Blessed Mary’s elevation to sainthood.
   The role of school captain is not to be taken lightly.
   To be elected, Danica had to put in a detailed application and sit through an interview with the school’s executive committee when she was in Year 11.
   Apart from the student council, Danica has participated in school musicals and dance festivals and has also participated in charity events such as relay for life and the Terry Connolly ORGANised walk. 
   She is active at her local church, the Corpus Christi Parish, and the Youth for Christ (YFC).
   When asked how she believes Mary Mackillop’s teachings remain relevant to the students at St. Mary’s College, Danica replies, “Mary Mackillop lived a life filled with faith and courage, which is our school motto, and I believe that the students aim to be like her in the way they carry about their daily lives – with faith and courage.” 
   Mary Mackillop was born to Scottish immigrants in 1842. Her life centered around providing education to poor children, looking after the sick, the under-privileged, and the elderly.
  The road to her saint hood has been a long and difficult one – nearly 65 years – and required the perseverance of a lot of people. She was first beatified in 1995. 
   Danica says that St. Mary Mackillop College is a welcoming institution just as their school patron who attended to the poor and did not discriminate against anyone.
   In this day and age, one might question the relevance and importance of saints to modern Australian society and young Australians.
   Whilst Catholicism remains a big denomination in Australia, there has been a perceived decline in the numbers.  But there is no doubt that Mary MacKillop is revered by Australians as a national figure  – Catholic or not.
   “I think that her being canonised in the 21st century is important in itself,” Danica says. “It means that we can look beyond all the issues of todayand believe that good can be done, despite everything going on around us. She is a reminder that there are others who need more help than ourselves.  It is our duty to attend to them, and give them support,” she adds.
   For Danica, Mary Mackillop’s greatest achievement was to make a difference in people’s lives despite limited resources and her own circumstances.  “She didn’t overlook people and worked with them to improve their lives.” 
   Danica’s favourite Mary Mackillop quote – and something she strives to live by – is   “Never see a need without doing something about it.”

newspinoy Q&A in Sydney

If given the chance, who will you vote as the next president of the Philippines?

 SURVEYS during Philippine presidential elections are frequent – some trust it, some don’t.  newsPinoy ventured on doing one last month, on the lighter side actually, to determine the pulse of Filipino-Aussies on who they would vote for in the coming elections.
   In our ‘man-on-the-street’ random question-and-answer, we asked Filipino-Aussies on who, if given the chance, would they vote for as the next president of the Philippines.  We used the term ‘given the chance’ because a lot of Filipino-Aussies in NSW did not register as absentee voters.  (There are barely 600 Pinoy voters in NSW.  On why, that’s another story).
   But we raised the question to every Kabayan we could find out in the street and ticked the scores.  We stopped when we got 100 respondents.
   Here’s what we found out:
   Of 100 respondents – 21 prefered Noynoy Aquino, 18 chose Manny Villar, 17 for Richard Gordon.
   The rest – Bro. Eddie Villanueva – 9; Gibo Teodoro – 4; Joseph Estrada – 3.  No votes for Jamby Madrigal, Nicanor Perlas and JC de los Reyes. Twenty-eight (28) respondents said they were undecided, did not really know the candidates (or simply had little interest on the elections).
[CAUTION:  This should not be taken as a serious survey as there were no sampling methods applied except that the respondents were aged 18 and above, a Filipino-Aussie, and someone who had something to say (or none to say at all) in the coming Philippine elections.   - newsPinoy]